ANKARA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish forces have "neutralized" 32 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Friday.
The forces targeted the PKK members in the Haftanin, Gara, and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq, along the "Operation Claw-Lock" zone, the ministry said on social media platform X.
It stressed that the country's counter-terrorism operation will continue until "every single terrorist is eliminated from the region."
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.
The Turkish government launched "Operation Claw-Lock" in April 2022 to fight the PKK in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.
A total of 376 PKK members have been killed in northern Iraq so far this year, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Turkish forces often carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK militants, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. ■
